In Papua New Guinea, Barrick dumps toxic mine tailings directly into the river. Meanwhile, the original landowners complain of a lack of compensation and infrastructure development, and a lack of access to Barrick officals. There is also a large-scale human rights crisis involving the death and injury of small scale miners near the mine site.

Barrick Settlement on Rapes and Killings in Papua New Guinea Proof that Victims Need Independent Legal CounselMining WatchApril 3rd, 2015April 3, 2015. Today, eleven of at least 120 women who claim to have been raped and gang raped by security guards at Barrick Gold’s Porgera Joint Venture mine in Papua New Guinea, and three of many more men and their families who claim to have been the victims of violence and killing by security guards, finally got equitable settlements. These fortunate claimants were the clients of lawyers with US-based EarthRights International, who was prepared to file legal cases on their behalf.

Barrick faces multi-billion dollar suit over Porgera mineby Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.comMarch 19th, 2015Canada's Barrick Gold (NYSE, TSX:ABX), in the midst of a worldwide assets sale to help reduce net debt by at least $3 billion, has something else to worry about these days, as the firm is now facing a legal threat in Papua New Guinea.

Porgera Gold Mine Landowners claim $US4b from BarrickPost Courier (PNG)March 11th, 2015MP Mangape says Barrick owes $US4 billion for breach of contract agreements including Special Mining Lease landowners’ resettlement packages, Fly in Fly Out agreement projects, infrastructure including roads and bridges, social and environmental damages.
Mr Mangape on behalf of landowners from both Special Mining Lease (SML) and Lease for Mining Purposes (LMP) said the claim was genuine and if Barrick doesn’t pay, they will take it to the international arbitration.

Mine Landowners: Settle issues firstPost CourierFebruary 19th, 2015Landowners along the Pogera river who were affected by environmental damages caused by the Porgera Gold Mine have petitioned the government to intervene on their request for the developer Barrick Gold to compensate them for the damages caused to their environment and river systems.

Miner plans to sell Porgera stakePost Courier (PNG)February 17th, 2015Mining Minister Byron Chan said Barrick Gold’s intention to sell 95 percent of shares is a commercial decision and the State has no control or privy over it. Meanwhile, Porgera Landowners Association chairman Tony Mark Ekepa said in a statement that before selling its 95 percent share off, the company must take into account the unresolved issues caused by the mine to the local communities for the past 25 years.

Increased Violence at Barrick’s Porgera Mine: Indigenous Ipili send Envoy from Papua New Guinea to CanadaMining WatchSeptember 11th, 2014Barrick Gold’s Porgera Joint Venture Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has long been associated with extreme violence against local men and women by mine security and state police associated with the mine. The level of human rights abuses at the mine has spiked again this year.
In April, combined state police and army units were once again “called out” to Porgera by the PNG government to deal with Barrick’s ongoing inability to stop local people displaced by the mine from entering the pit and the mine’s massive uncontained waste flows in a desperate attempt to eke out a living from residual gold.

Porgera Burns: The case for resettlement has never been more clearJune 9th, 2014"Porgera Burns" read headlines this morning in Papua New Guinea's daily newspaper. More than 200 houses were burnt to the ground, it reports, and angry villagers retaliated by attacking an Australian mine worker.
This isn't the first time that security forces have burnt down hundreds of houses next to Barrick's mine, and this recent violent episode underscores the need to meet the community's demand to be resettled away from the dangerous mine site.